Agency stops enforcing break requirement for short haulers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced it is no longer enforcing the mandatory 30-minute break required by the current hours of service rule in light of a court ruling last week that vacated that portion of the rule.

The agency said that as of Aug. 2 the break, which was required after eight on-duty hours for all drivers, will no longer apply to short haulers, which are defined as all drivers (including CDL holders) who operate within 100 air-miles of their normal work reporting location or non-CDL drivers who operate within a 15o-mile radius of the location where they report for duty.

All other portions of the current hours rule were upheld, including the rule that a driver’s 34-hour workweek restart include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods and the limit of using the 34-hour restart just once per 160 hours.

Mercer is forcing their Owner Ops to use Electo Logs now.
There was an Article here last night…they took it down…maybe too embarassing?? They do have Alert Status for Hours of Service and Unsafe Driving…is Mercer embarassed of there horrible record? Only 118 Crashes…not too bad…is THIS why they have to suck up to CSA and install the dumb Log Book Recording Device?

no reform,no what your talking about before you start babbling,i am with mercer and we have a very good score and are safety minded drivers.mercer did post yesterday that they are taking volunteers for the eobr,s to test them,i for one will not be doing this when they become mandated for all trks I will be parking my trk as im sure a lot of other drivers will be doing.

No Reform

NOPE…the latest CSA Scores at FMCSA are very clear..You have ALERT STATUS in 2 Catagories…UNSAFE DRIVING and Hours of Serivice….also Mercer is COMITTED to this Electro Logs and there is a DEADLINE in 2015 ALL THEIR TRUCKS will have the DEVICE in USE.

No Reform

Article indicated by Mid 2015 all Mercer trucks will have electronic log device installed. They are way out of Compliance with CSA at this time and probably facing a Compliance Review and were offered a “way out” of this Trouble…this is how FMCSA gets companies to install electonic logs.

No Reform

JBS Carriers had similar Trouble with FMCSA.They had at least one ALERT STATUS on the 7 BASICS…I think it WAS unsafe driving…of course TODAY the Alert Status is Removed…but they did install CAMERAS to Monitor the Drivers!!! See how this thing works???? LOL.

Shawn L Hubbard

From what I read in a company email, short haulers must return to their terminal within 12 hours of their start time, which makes local drivers like myself not eligible for the exemption because I sometimes work 14 hours.